Shattered
by GCTIGERFAN1
Summary: AU. Kenshin is a broken soldier running away from his past. Kaoru is a farmgirl hellbent on helping him. What happens when his past catches up to him? Will they survive or will they shatter?


**Hey guys, so… this is a little something that me and my roommate, Kai-C. came up with a while ago. I'm just posting it under my account because she doesn't have one yet. Hope you like it. She wrote it, I'm just typing it. Disclaimer: Obviously, we don't own Rurouni Kenshin, it and anything affiliated belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki. Now, Enjoy.**

**Prologue**

My family was dead. I had nothing left. I laid there listening to the strumming of rain hitting the small roof above me. Starting tomorrow, there was not going to be hot food cooked by my mother, no nightly sparing times with my father, there was nothing. I didn't cry I knew it wasn't going to do any good. Their deaths came quickly, first the fever, then the swelling of the throat, there was no time to say a proper goodbye.

I rolled onto my side and looked at the object on the table that my father had handed me while he was facing death's door. The dark light from the window made the metal case shine. My father's dagger was his greatest treasure. It wasn't grand, just a blade in a small metal case. It meant little to me. I preferred a long sword over any dagger. His words had more meaning than the object. The short, staggered breaths he made while talking to me were evidence to the painful suffocation he was feeling.

"Make the right choice."

It wasn't much, but my father used these words more than any other. I would strive to follow those words, but as a 12 year old boy, I didn't know what it was I was supposed to be making choices on. I soon lulled into a dreamless sleep and awoke to a dark, gray room. Though it was morning, the rain still fell and the clouds covered the sun. I got up and dressed into the clothes I wore the night before. The mud had caked dry onto my pants and started to crack off when I moved as I went to get a loaf of bread on the shelf for breakfast.

The rain had slowed to a drizzle when I had finished, so I thought it would be time to go get some wood. I went through the day very slowly. My father did all the hard work around the home while I managed the smaller portion. I was sad all day, but I didn't let that stop me. I still had to survive.

Nobody came by to visit, and no gifts of sympathy arrived. My parents and I lived in a small farm house out in the woods, so nobody really knew us. We only went into town when we needed; the last time this happened was six months ago. I went in for more bread and other supplies. Afterward I went out and tended to the garden. Mother took great pride in it and it had managed to become full of food.

By the time twilight found me, I was practicing my swordsmanship on a tree in the yard. Sometimes my father couldn't find time to spar with me, so he instructed me to wield my power at the tree. I had a wooden sword which I used with my father, but when he wasn't around, I would run to a far bush and get out the rusty sword which I found on a dead soldier years ago.

My father had taken me to town once when I was eight and an officer was returning home after a battle. That was normal with the current war that was going on. He must have fled, because the army was permanent. No turning back. If he was found, he'd be hanged. It didn't look like he would get either fate. As we got close to passing, he collapsed. My father went to help him, he hated the army but didn't see any harm in helping the man. He hung his head, for the man had died. That was when I first got to see the man's sword. I marveled at it and I knew I wanted it, but Father would've killed me if I voiced my thoughts. The man was drug into the trees and we moved on. The next night I snuck out and followed the road till I found the man and stole his sword. I hid it in the bush to secretly train with.

I trained for a long time that night, and by midnight the clouds and rain had moved out to show the large, full moon. I washed my blistered hands in a near puddle and brought my sword inside. That night in bed, I thought about what I was going to do. The weight of the chores was too much for me and my bread was running low. I knew no one in town and didn't feel like living with a family who took pity on me. I concluded that the military was my only choice.

Against my father's wishes, I had wanted to join when I turned eighteen. He hadn't been aware, but I was planning on sneaking out when the time came. I went to sleep with confidence for I knew that the next couple of days were going to be tough, but I could handle it. I strived to be the best.

The next morning was bright, and I awoke to the sunshine blinding me. I slowly got up and changed into a clean outfit. I made a small pack of food from my mother's garden and the last of the bread. I didn't have too many possessions, but I did grab a couple of things. One was my small, wooden top, and the other was my father's dagger in its case.

I then took a deep breath and made my way outside. I grabbed my sword on the way out the door and decided to visit my parents before I left. I followed my small drag trail till I got to a small clearing in the woods. The sun was able to shine through the leaves in this area and made the place a bright refuge. Their graves were sloppy and uneven, but I had managed just fine. I turned away and then remembered something.

I wouldn't ever return to this place, so I laid down my stuff and went in to the trees. I found some brush a ways in and took four sticks. On my way back to the graves, I constructed two makeshift crosses and placed them on top of each grave. Now, if anyone looked at this area, they would see graves and not mounds. Looking at my work a little longer, I began to turn away. I wasn't going to let this hold me back so I walked through the trees and out of my past life. The road to the capital was going to be a few days, but I was prepared.

**So what did you guys think? Please review, for it makes us writers very happy and motivated. Remember, more reviews = more updates (^ . ^)**


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